


Lucky (I'm In Love)

by ThatOneNerdGirl



Series: Run With Me [4]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awesome Clint Barton, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-15 01:52:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15402363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneNerdGirl/pseuds/ThatOneNerdGirl
Summary: They've been living together for four months, recently got a dog, were keeping up with the bills. Life was good.And then Clint had to go mess it up. (He really doesn't though.)





	Lucky (I'm In Love)

**Author's Note:**

> So, hi guys! This is the sequel to Acquired, but really Acquired is just a lead up to this. You don't have to read Acquired in order to understand this. 
> 
> This is one of the parts I'm super excited to share, only because this was one of my favorites to write. I filled two dialogue prompts with this one, "Come here," and "Do you regret it?" 
> 
> Unbeta'd, as usual, let me know if there are any glaring mistakes please. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!!

"Come here, you dumb dog," Clint grumbled, tired of chasing the mutt around the apartment. Tony was cackling on the couch, holding his stomach as he watched his boyfriend trying to get the purple collar around Lucky's neck.

"You could help," Clint tried, turning to look at the brunet, bottom lip pressed out in a pout.

"I did not bring the dog home," Tony pointed out, followed by a burst of chuckles as Lucky gave a playful bark, tail wagging hard enough to almost knock Clint's coffee cup off the table.

Clint caught the cup, shooting a half-hearted glare at the dog before turning pleading eyes back to the brunet. Tony simply raised an eyebrow, a silent challenge. They could probably go all night like this, back and forth with only glances. Wasn't that something, though? The only person who had that deep a connection with him was Nat, and that took _years._

It hit Clint, the moment Tony broke their little competition to laugh as Lucky climbed up in his lap, licking at his face. Shit. He really didn't want to believe Wilson was right, but goddammit, the man was right. When you realize you love someone it hits you like a fucking truck. This was gonna be bad.

It was only their fourth month living together, Tony was still skittish about his father. He was slowly overcoming his trust issues, slowly letting Clint see all the edges and pieces that made Tony who he was. It had been a process, littered with ugly nights and heartbroken mornings. And now he was gonna throw a wrench in the whole thing. Good job, Barton.

"Hurry and clip it!" Tony's cheerful voice broke him from his reverie, looking up at him from behind a blanket of fur. Clint moved, gently clipping the purple collar around the dog's neck, patting his head in apology, letting out a hum of accomplishment before plopping down next to the Tony-Lucky combination. Tony reached for his hand, shoving tuft after tuft of soft yellow fur out of his way, finally lacing their fingers together.

Clint swallowed thickly, running his thumb gently over the brunet's knuckles. This was going to be harder than he thought.

* * *

 

Hours. He'd made it literally four hours before he stuck his foot in his mouth. The storm had knocked the power out, but the lightning was making very interesting pictures against the night sky.

Lucky was cowered under the bed, letting out a pathetic whine whenever a loud clap of thunder clapped overhead. They'd tried to coax him up, tried to get him to settle, but the dog seemed to find the most comfort hidden from the storm, as if he was still behind the pizza place. It broke Tony's heart a little.

"I'm glad you brought him home," Tony had said, watching a strike of lightning bounce off a rod attached to a building down the block. His back was pressed against the blond's chest, his Mechanical Engineering abandoned in his lap. Clint's phone gave a cheerful chirp as he finished the game he was playing, the sound cutting off as he put it next to his thigh.

"Couldn't just leave him there," Tony hummed, "He might be the famed 'Pizza Dog,' but he was still a stray."

"Have a habit of picking up strays, don't you?" Tony turned to look him in the eye, small smirk on his lips.

It wasn't fair, nothing about this was fair. Fuck his hopeless romantic side. Natasha would be laughing at him right now, as he handed a five dollar bill to Sam. Because Tony in shitty candlelight was just as striking as Tony in the sun, or just woken up, or whenever.

Shit. He was gonna fuck this up. In approximately three, tw-

"I love you," Wow. Couldn't even wait 'til one.

Tony froze in front of him, hands clenching on his thigh, eyes glassed over slightly. Yup, nice. Nice job. Really.

"I'm sorry, it just- I just- I didn- I mean I _did_ , but I didn't want to freak you out. I know it's too soon and it's fine and just forget I sai-" Tony's finger was warm against his lips, he'd somehow turned his body, was sitting on his knees in front of Clint. Brown eyes glistened, unshed tears clumping together his eye lashes, an unreadable expression crossing his face.

Clint gulped, waiting for the rejection, for the moment where Tony gently let him go, and would get up, leave. But it didn't. A watery chuckle broke through the initial panic, the small smile on Tony's face looked relieved.

"Don't apologize," Tony started, "Unless you have something you regret. Do you regret it?" Clint shook his head, opening his mouth to respond, only to be shushed. "Then don't apologize."

"But-"

"Clint," Tony leveled him with a look, cutting him off before he could make an even bigger fool of himself, "It's fine."

"I don't want to freak you out," Clint argued, not ready to let go. God he didn't want to let this go. In these past few months, he'd seen the brunet smile more than he had in the year they'd known each other. There was light, in those brown eyes, light that wasn't there right now, guarded by an unreadable mask. "I don't want you to leave," He added quieter.

Tony seemed to crack, a breath being punched out of him by the meaning behind Clint's words.

"Most of the time," Tony began with a shaky breath, "Most of the time when people say that, around me, it's typically an excuse. My mother used it, to excuse anything and everything my father did. 'It's only because he loves you,' she'd say." He didn't realize there were tears streaming down his cheeks until one calloused thumb came up to wipe it away.

Clint found himself at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say to fix this, to mend this hole that the old bastard had torn through. He grabbed the genius, wrapping his arms around the brunet and nearly crushing him to his chest. God damn Howard and his fucked up way of raising a kid. Fuck him. Clint wished he had stayed that night, if only to punch the asshole in the face.

"The whole time I've been here," Tony's voice was muffled from his shoulder, hands grasping into the fabric of his shirt, "It's different. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the wrecking ball to come in. I keep waiting for something, that I don't think is going to come anymore."

"No excuses here," Clint muttered, clinging a little tighter to the body in front of him, ignoring the slight tremors. Tony nodded against his shoulder, sniffling a bit, wiping at his eyes when he felt Clint press a kiss into his hair.

This. This was real, Tony realized. Here in their tiny bedroom, rain pelting the windows, their dog whimpering at the thunder under their bed, surrounded by the candles they had bought on sale. It was cliché to say the least, but it also warmed something in his chest, made him nestle that much closer. This was _theirs_.

"Holy shit," Tony breathed, laugh a little hysterical at the realization. "Fuck, Clint."

Clint pulled away, worried about the sudden change in his genius, blue eyes scanning his face for any signs of distress. He raised a confused eyebrow when he saw an uninhibited joy taking over Tony's features.

"Clint," Tony smiled brightly, leaning forward to place a kiss against the blonde's lips. Clint barely had time to react, Tony already pulling away with a shy little smile, chuckling at the little noise of protest Clint let out.

Tony replaced his finger against the blonde's lips for a minute, drawing in a steadying breath. "It may take me a while to say it, but you need to know that it's the same for me."

Clint's eyes widened, hands clutching tight around Tony's waist before surging forward. Tony's chuckle sent a happy shiver down his spine, lips never leaving the brunet's.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this part! It was super fun to write. I really enjoy writing these two together, and what should have been a quick one shot became a whole universe. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys want to see next! I'm working on Howard's fic, so that's coming up. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! I enjoy your feedback, and comments and kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> Come talk to me on tumblr [@nerdowritesthings!](nerdowritesthings.tumblr.com)


End file.
